Document And Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Jan. 28, 2012	Jul. 30, 2011	Mar. 19, 2012 Common Stock Class A [Member]	Mar. 19, 2012 Common Stock Class B [Member]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jan. 28, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Entity Registrant Name	WET SEAL INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000863456
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--01-28
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			90,598,450	0
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Public Float		$ 441,921,000
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No